The picturesque East Sussex seaside town of Rye hosts this ten-day festival every February - its mouthwatering locally caught scallops are said to be some of the best in the country.

Hotels and restaurants throughout the seaside town produce special menus featuring local scallops. A programme of special events is on offer during the festival, including scallop-cutting and scallop-cooking demonstrations, as well as scallop-tasting evenings with musical entertainment, and local award-winning wine tastings. You can even watch the newly-inaugurated scallop race, with teams of competitors pushing wheelbarrow-loads of scallops from Simmons Quay to the Ship Inn.

Precipitous cobbled streets and a mere 5,000 inhabitants ensure that this medieval hill town maintains a village feel. The town became one of the strategically significant Cinque ports in 1189 and is steeped in history. Don't miss the Ypres Tower (pronounced 'wipers') and Lamb House, home of E.F. Benson. H.G. Wells, Henry James and Joseph Conrad are other famous Rye inhabitants.